It’s been ok? We’re in NYC, so my kid was in PreK at her school. We love the school and because it’s a “choice” school they depend on our enrollment to stay viable. Otherwise, since I was laid off, we’d just unschool for the year. Read more
Michael Ann Dobbs's discussions
Michael Ann Dobbs
michaeladobbs
Microwaved sweet potatoes saved my sanity when my daughter was a baby. Skinny ones are perfectly cooked in 5 minutes. (Our microwave is weak so I usually do 3 and then flip it over). Now I have sweet potatoes for breakfast three or four mornings a week. Read more
There used to be an entire chunk of the population who were “people with kids.” Then reliable birth control was invented. And suddenly kids were seen as an “opt-in” situation. (See the Republican ethos of: You brought ‘em here, you better take care of them by yourself.) Working moms today still spend as many hours… Read more
Ah yes, I will let my four-year-old who can neither read or write know she is in charge of her own assignments. Thanks internet commenter! Read more
I know! It’d cost them like $6,000 to get new illustrations for an omnibus edition. And they could sell the digital version in perpetuity (I have seen these sorts of contracts). Even if they didn’t make a ton of money on the print edition the trickle from a digital version would add up over the years. Read more
Westmark is barely available as a book. Was looking to pick it up the other week. Paper only (what I prefer, but not during a pandemic) and only two of the three books in available editions at B&N. Probably pick it up at the library at some point... Read more
I wanted to, but can’t because my husband works at a cancer hospital. I could have done a stage 2 trial, but none were in NYC. (I can’t ethically expose cancer patients if I got the placebo. But I’d be happy to take the jab.) Read more
40,000 people showed up to enroll their children in unpaid polio trials. Modern Americans suck. Read more
“Down By the Bay” is a traditional folk song. Sorry. Read more
The problem is that the scale is existing within community transmission. NYC’s community transmission is low enough that I’d send my kid two days a week to a half enrolled classroom. But I wouldn’t do that in Arizona. I wouldn’t take my kid to play outside in AZ right now, the rate is so high. Read more
I did both of those things in the mid-80s! I don’t think we ever owned a car seat and my youngest sibling was born in ‘87. Read more
I don’t like TERFs — they are cruel and wrong — but their logic is impeccable if you follow the arguments. Read more
It’s not power for the sake of power -- it’s power for the sake of growing and insulating his current wife’s spectacularly large fortune. If you’re not talking about how he’s a kept man who can only give his wife tax breaks, you’re not talking about McConnell. Read more
The Internet really is full of everything. Read more
Holsteins provide a lower fat milk, while Jersey’s provide a higher fat milk usually used in cheese making. (guess who’s been watching virtual farm tours with her preschooler all week) Read more
Pssst -- Girls use toilet paper every time we pee. And more when we have to dispose of menstrual products. Read more
I like this as a solution before the problem! But what about teaching him to cut them off himself? I was using a steak knife by age six (it’s when I started asking for a pocket knife -- I didn’t get one until I turned ten, but my dad started teaching me to use a knife). Even just handing him the dino sandwich… Read more
When I was in middle school (1991-1994) I made $5/week. Which was enough to go see a $4.75 matinee on Saturday with my friends and use the quarter to call home to get a ride. I think pegging allowance to what you expect your kid to do with it (i.e. I had friends whose parents expected them to buy lunch everyday with… Read more
So, apparently, your activity level when you are pregnant will help set your kid’s “normal”/ “expected” activity level. I was teaching about 25-30 hours a week of swimming lessons for most of my pregnancy. So that was a mistake. Read more